Thanks for all the tips mamas! I'm going to try to nurse her at home with the cover and w/o a pillow some more to see how that goes. She has just been getting so fussy when she's hungry its hard to do that. But I do have to keep trying!

Also, anyone try the My Breast Friend travel blow-up pillow by any chance? I just looked it up. I don't know how easy it would be to blow that up all of the time though.

I don't really have advice about the holding position issue (except for practice, practice, practice the cradle hold ), but I'll tell you my little trick for latching on when I can't see DS's mouth, like when he's under a nursing cover or in the middle of the night. With the hand that's holding the breast, put your index finger right next to, almost over the nipple. Now you have a little guiding pointer that can feel where LO's mouth is and make sure she's not latching onto someplace else. HTH!

I never used a cover, it always seemed to draw more attention to what I'm doing. It took us a while to get used to NIP but we have the hang of it now. I use the cradle hold, we started it at home so she got used to it. I just use a receiving blanket to help cover us. I wear a tank underneath so I don't worry about showing any skin. DD does LOVE to push my shirt up while eating so I use the blanket to cover her arm. She HATES a blanket over her head so I use to to try and cover the top of my boob. Until she just swings are arm (with blanket) up and exposes me. It takes a while, and you may feel more comfy starting out nursing in the car while out until you get your routine down.

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I lift my eyes unto the hills, Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, The Maker of Heaven and Earth. And I'll praise You in this storm and I will lift my hands, For You are who You are no matter where I am, And every tear I've cried You hold in Your hand, You never left my side and though my heart is torn, I will praise You in this storm

My LO is 12 weeks old and we are just starting to be able to nurse in public with some ease (some, not a lot). I also prefer the cross cradle hold at home because his little head still tends to "pop off" frequently in the cradle position.

I have been using the cover some at home to practice and what has worked for me when using the cradle hold out in public (or at home) is taking the opposite hand and holding my breast so that it stays at the right level for him (height wise). I also tend to occasionally pull down the cover over his head to make it more taught from my neck to his head....it makes it easier to see down into there to see what he is doing.

I am not sure that you can visualize any of that, but I hope it helps some! Practice with your sling at home too! I used my sling to nurse in for the first time today and although it took me a bit longer to get him in the right position, it worked REALLY well once I got everything lined up right and tightened properly!

Oh, and find somewhere "public" that is a good safe location if you get flustered or end up flashing anyone. For me, that has been in the church nursery. None of the nursery workers are going to judge me, but I still make it my goal to stay modestly covered :-)

My LO is 12 weeks old and we are just starting to be able to nurse in public with some ease (some, not a lot). I also prefer the cross cradle hold at home because his little head still tends to "pop off" frequently in the cradle position.

I have been using the cover some at home to practice and what has worked for me when using the cradle hold out in public (or at home) is taking the opposite hand and holding my breast so that it stays at the right level for him (height wise). I also tend to occasionally pull down the cover over his head to make it more taught from my neck to his head....it makes it easier to see down into there to see what he is doing.

I am not sure that you can visualize any of that, but I hope it helps some! Practice with your sling at home too! I used my sling to nurse in for the first time today and although it took me a bit longer to get him in the right position, it worked REALLY well once I got everything lined up right and tightened properly!

Oh, and find somewhere "public" that is a good safe location if you get flustered or end up flashing anyone. For me, that has been in the church nursery. None of the nursery workers are going to judge me, but I still make it my goal to stay modestly covered :-)

Practice makes perfect! Definitely practice using your nursing cover AND nursing w/o pillows. When I nurse my son, I cradle his upper body with one arm and the rest of him lays across my lap. I usually cross my leg on the side hes nursing and use that leg to help support his weight. Your arm strength will get really good and you'll be surprised how quickly baby will learn to do their part. What kind of cover do you have? We use an Udder Cover and love it. It has a bendable neck on it so it always stays open up top so you can look down on baby. I also tuck it under baby to hold it in place. Hope this helps alil.

You have already got great suggestions, but I'll tell you what I do. It took forever for us to master the cradle hold, and sitting with my legs crossed, or with my ankle on my knee if that makes sense is really what finally made it work. Also, I always wear two shirts- a nursing tank and a shirt on top. I pull the top shirt up and this way my stomach isn't exposed, and I use the top shirt to pull down and cover my boob. Works great.
And as far as nursing in a sling, it takes practice. I also have a Maya rs. I just put dd in it diagonally, with her legs sticking out one end and her head the other. The edge of the sling wraps around her butt perfectly and holds that end of her body up. Then I use my arm to hold her head and latch on, then use the tail of the sling as a cover.
Good luck and be confident! If people want to stare, then stare back!

You have already got great suggestions, but I'll tell you what I do. It took forever for us to master the cradle hold, and sitting with my legs crossed, or with my ankle on my knee if that makes sense is really what finally made it work. Also, I always wear two shirts- a nursing tank and a shirt on top. I pull the top shirt up and this way my stomach isn't exposed, and I use the top shirt to pull down and cover my boob. Works great.
And as far as nursing in a sling, it takes practice. I also have a Maya rs. I just put dd in it diagonally, with her legs sticking out one end and her head the other. The edge of the sling wraps around her butt perfectly and holds that end of her body up. Then I use my arm to hold her head and latch on, then use the tail of the sling as a cover.
Good luck and be confident! If people want to stare, then stare back!

This, exactly. And practice, practice, practice at home. Even better if it's when your kiddo isn't actually hungry or fussy so that you're not feeling frantic, and maybe even use a mirror when you're working on nursing in the RS so that you can check positioning.

GL!

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Married to my best friend since 10/04, Mommy to DD1 since 10/08 and DD2 6/11
Avi: REALLY old pic of my girlies <3

Take your Boppy with you everywhere, or at least some smaller version that works for you. Seriously, I've breastfed for...going on 10 years now, and didn't learn that trick until I saw my SIL carting hers everywhere. She considered it an integral part of being able to breastfeed, like having a bottle is integral for formula feeding. She needed it, and made sure it was always nearby.

NIP got easier for me when I followed her lead (we had babies at the same time) and stopped caring about looking silly bringing my Boppy into a restaurant. And since I can nurse completely hands-free with a Boppy, I can eat, sip my tea, converse (I use my hands a lot when I talk, lol) and it's very freeing.

I still can't bf when babywearing, and I am a hardcore babywearer. I'm so jealous of people who can! My life would be so easy if I could figure it out, but I've had to accept that I just have to sit down to nurse. Hopefully somebody else has pointers.

I also can't nurse with a nursing cover, as not a single one of my babies will consent to being covered up. But I have a G-cup breasts and don't like that much boob on display when I'm out in public, so I toss a flat diaper or something over that shoulder (tucking it into my nursing tank strap) so that it hangs down almost to my nipple. That way there's plenty of fabric obscuring the boob but makes latching and adjusting so much easier. Maybe not using a full cover would help you too?

But all of that being said, for the most part I still nurse in the car before I go into places so I won't have to find a place to sit down and nurse. I factor in extra time just so we can relax in the car's air conditioning and listen to music and nurse.

This although I haven't mastered it either, mostly I go where I can go in private but my boppy is attached to my hip! DD HATES being covered up as well but I might have to do the diaper trick or something similar.

__________________Michelle~Nurse to many Wife to DH, Nate 09/23/06 and Mommy to Lucas 2/28/09 and Cecelia 2/27/11! Fur babies Stampy and Kimber. ~No man is a failure who has friends~

Thanks mamas! I've tried nursing her a few times this week without the boppy and it's a DISASTER! She hates the cradle hold and she has since we came home from the hospital. She starts squirming big time and I can't latch her or keep her latched if I do get her latched! She freaks out and it's hard to calm her down so I'm going to break from trying that for awhile. I can't see to latch her with my cover either - my friend made it and it has a place around the collar that comes out to allow you to see but I just can't get the hang of it! Oh well. I may be taking the boppy with me everywhere!

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Christ-loving SAHM to Zoey (4/11) and wife to my best friend Randall